PoKéMoN
Avenger by Ben Russell-Gough
Legal Disclaimer
Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters and their human friends and enemies are all the sole copyright and trademark property of Nintendo Entertainment. No breach of any copyright or legal property is intended.
Author's Notes
This is my first Pokémon fic. I don't know all the monsters or all the moves. I base my story purely on what I've seen of the cartoon. I thank all the other Pokémon writers on this board for providing plenty of inspiration.
Text in [squared-off brackets] indicates the translation of a Pokémon's language into English.
Text in Italics but not in quotes indicates thoughts.
Ages: Ash is 16, nearly 17; Misty is 18; Brock is 24; Tracey is 19; Jessie and James are both 23.
Content Warning: Swearing and CHARACTER DEATH.
Book 1 – The Last Hope
What has gone before…
Ash has finally succeeded in his quest to become supreme champion of the Pokémon League. However, dark clouds are forming on the horizon. In a terrible late-night meeting, his mother and Professor Oak inform him that he is, in fact, the son of Giovanni de Rocketti, the mysterious leader of Team Rocket.
Oak explains that both father and son share a special ability that makes them far superior to any other Pokémon Trainers in the world. Ash is the only hope of defeating Giovanni and ending Team Rocket's reign of terror. Ash decides to keep this a secret from his friends. He cannot believe that this is his destiny, and hopes that he can avoid facing and defeating his father in battle.
Simultaneously, Giovanni replaces Jessie and James with Butch and Cassidy. Deciding that a fully trained Ash is too great a threat to his plans, he orders the brutal pairing to kill his son.
As a test, Giovanni sends Butch and Cassidy, with a band of Black Rocket grunts to pillage a certain mansion outside of Veridian City, James' family home. James arrives to find that his parents are dead and his home is in ruins. He, Jessie and Meowth quit Team Rocket and James dedicates himself to getting revenge for this brutal act. They arrive at the Veridian City Hospital just in time to comfort his fiancée, Jessibelle, in her dying moments.
Ash, horrified by these events, retreats to the roof of the hospital, where Misty confronts him about his sudden depression.
***
"You see Misty, I haven't told you what I was told last night because I was afraid. Not of you reacting in the wrong way, but of reacting in the right way and getting as far away from me as you can. Because if what I heard was true, I could so very easily go down the same route and become a new, worse, Giovanni."
Misty shook her head. "No Ash, you are nothing like him. You are good and noble. He is… he is a monster, an animal that lives off of pain. You will never be like that and I will never have a reason to leave you."
"Won't I?" Ash asked grimly. "Won't you? I pray that you are right, my Misty. Fathers and sons, however, sometimes they are more alike than we realise."
Misty stood back in horror. "What are you saying, Ash?"
"Misty," Ash looked away and when he turned back, his eyes reflected a terrible darkness, something that frightened Misty and absolutely terrified Ash. "Misty, Giovanni diRocketti's real name is Joseph Oak. And he is my father."
And now the continuation…
Chapter 3 – Thunder and Fire
Misty backed off slightly in instinctive dread. Ash looked at her with a mixture of fear, loneliness and compassion. "It is alright to run away Misty," he said quietly. "I would never blame you. Hell, it's probably the smart thing for you to do."
Misty couldn't process this news, let alone what Ash was saying. She tried to fit her head around the concept that Ash Ketchum, the most honourable, good and kind person she had ever known could be, somehow, related to that… that monster. It shook her to the foundations. "I need a second here," she pleaded. "You are telling me that, last night, Professor Oak and your mother told you that… that Giovanni is your father?"
Ash nodded mutely. He seemed a ten-year old kid again, looking at his feet in shame. "That is why you were so angry with them," Misty concluded. She looked at her anguished friend and then she knew what had happened. "They told you that it was your duty, as his son, to stop him." Misty's natural compassion came to the surface. She suddenly crossed the small gap between them and hugged Ash hard. "Oh my poor Ash," she whispered. "You were right, they can't ask this of you. You are a Pokémon Trainer, not a soldier."
Ash hugged her back, glad for her support. He realised that Misty didn't have the full story. Hell, she's got the gist, Ash decided. That crazy stuff about special abilities is just anger talking. Yeah, Misty's right, as always.
Misty released Ash and gave him a playful punch. "Now why didn't you tell me right away, mister?"
"Misty, I was afraid, okay?" Ash replied. "It is such a burden. I didn't want to force you to share that."
Misty went red with fury. "Why you… you man! For heaven's sake, Ash! I'm your best friend! I want you to promise that you will never, ever keep something like that from me again!"
Ash was surprised, but found a small core of warmth in Misty's willingness to share his life, both ups and downs. He made the promise.
***
The next few days passed like a blur for James. There was endless work for him to do: questions from Officer Jenny (that, frankly, he had no desire to answer) about the destruction of Viridian Palace, the formalities of dealing with the deaths of his kin, claiming his inheritance and (most importantly) keeping out of sight. By now Giovanni must have set the dogs loose to find them.
Who would have believed that the Twerps would have been such help? As a League Trainer, Ash convinced Nurse Joy to allow Jessie, James and Meowth to stay unofficially at the Pokémon Centre. It always seemed that one of them was on hand, Ash, Misty, Brock or Tracey, to help smooth over the bumps and ensure that the three ex-Rockets needed for nothing in the short term.
Through Professor Oak, Ash also arranged false identities and the appropriate IDs for wandering novice Trainers. This rankled at Jessie's pride. She felt that they should be considered equals to League Trainers, but James, in a rare show of leadership, told her to drop the matter. What they needed was for James Weston and Jessica Scarlet to drop from view forever. Beyond that… Well it didn't matter. They knew who they were.
Finally, a week after the death of his family, his former fiancée, and his own effective death, James collected a much-recovered Growly from the Treatment Centre. "Now I don't want you to send Growlithe into battle any time soon," Nurse Joy advised. "He is still awfully weak, and needs time to rebuild his energy before he will be back at full power."
James nodded. "He can still fight, can't he?" he asked. "If he needs to defend himself, I mean."
Joy frowned at the dark-haired, over-intense young man in the black clothes. "Young man, I would prefer if you gave that poor Growlithe a full month of rest but," she sighed when she saw the stubborn set of James' jaw, "he can generate bio-thermal flame right now. He should be back to full HP at the end of this week."
James nodded his thanks. He then bent down to receive Growly's joyous greeting. The Pokémon canine leapt up and licked his master's face excitedly, yelping and shouting "Growl-owl!" over and over again.
Jessie watched from the shade of the blimp as James walked out with Growly dancing ecstatically around him. She smiled as she noted how relaxed and happy James was. Since that terrible day only a week past, she had not seen her friend smile once and she had begun to wonder if he would ever do so again. "Hello James," she said, trying to keep her voice neutral and professional. She knelt and tried her winning smile on James' Growlithe. "Hello, Growly," she cooed.
[Hello to you too, pretty red-haired lady] Growly replied. He rushed forward and repeated his joyful greeting routine with Jessie, leaping around, licking at her face and generally acting like a love-struck puppy, which, when you think about it, is was what he was. Jessie started giggling and desperately tried to fend Growly off as James looked on, laughing his head off.
"Meowth! Hey, someone train that dog!" Meowth commented as he descended the cockpit ladder, carrying a bag of the last equipment that Jessie had instructed him to remove from the Blimp. Growly stopped his delirious greeting and began to snarl menacingly at Meowth. The canine stalked forward, snarling and growling.
"Meowth! Call it off! Call it off!" Meowth yelled, leaping ten feet straight up and snagging onto the material of the gas cell with his claws.
"Growly, down," James commanded. Growly stopped his challenge and turned to face his master with a questioning whine. "Meowth is our friend, Growly. He is going to help us. Now I want you to apologise to him." James looked up. "For god's sake, come down Meowth, you look silly up there."
A chagrined Meowth dropped agilely to the ground and watched nervously as Growly stalked towards him. Cats and dogs, James thought with a slight smirk. Finally, Growly sniffed at the feline his master insisted was his friend and gave him an experimental lick. Whether Meowth smelt right, or just tasted good, no one ever decided. The gleeful canine knocked the cat over and began to lick his face repeatedly. "Help, moider!" Meowth wailed. "Help! James! Jessie! Get him off of me!"
It took a couple of minutes for the two laughing humans to entice Growly from his new friend. Then James asked for Meowth's report. "Meowth, well I've got everything you wanted," the cat explained. "Da weapons, da medical kits, da food and water, da equipment and all da clothes and disguises. Why do you want it taken off anyway?"
"I'm sure the Blimp has tracking devices and other equipment that Team Rocket could use to find us," James explained. "That is why it has to be destroyed." He leaned down and scratched Growly between the ears. "Growly, use Ember Attack."
Growly snarled and reared up. He suddenly spat a fireball that raced to the Blimp and smashed into the gas cell. The fabric covering caught fire and began to collapse. Jessie, although she knew this was going to happen, gasped slightly. "Once again, Growly," James requested. "The car this time." A second fireball hit the rear of the car, detonating the blimp's fuel supply. The entire vehicle exploded, sending bits of twisted wreckage flying across the square. People appeared at office windows and Nurse Joy appeared at the entrance of the Pokémon Centre as the gas bag collapsed like a shroud over the savaged remains of the car.
James stroked Growly one more time. Then he and Jessie shouldered their few packs of equipment and set off from Viridian City, ignoring Nurse Joy's indignant command to come back and explain themselves.
"Meowth," Meowth whimpered. "Dat is it. Da Boss'll never accept us back now."
***
"What should we do about Team White Beta?" Mondo asked.
Giovanni cocked a brow and looked at the image of his aide-de-camp thoughtfully. "Do?" he asked. "Why should we 'do' anything?"
This caught Mondo by surprise. Giovanni's trusted lieutenant spluttered for a moment. "Sir, they've deserted!" he choked. "They stole an air transport and refused to report in! They're renegades! They're…"
"They are nothing," Giovanni roared. "Nothing save what I allow them to be," he continued in a more discreet tone. "Don't worry yourself about Meowth, Jessie and James, my dear, faithful Mondo. If that trio of incompetent rejects haven't killed themselves within a week, then I think that they've earned their freedom." Giovanni settled back and tried to calm himself by stroking his Persian's soft fur. "Now, I want an update on Team Black Sigma's progress."
***
Ash, Misty and Tracey walked in Viridian Forest. Ash was trying to get back into Professor Oak's good books by surveying the bug Pokémon of the forest. There were thousands of kinds of bug, and only a few dozen had ever been captured and studied. Personally, he doubted that getting back into his mentor's good books would be so easy. Once again, Misty was getting the shivers as she watched the legions of bug Pokémon around her. "Ugh," she grunted as she saw a group of wild Caterpies feasting on a fruit tree. "Disgusting, slimy bugs."
"I like 'em," Tracey contradicted. This was to be expected. He had a Scyther he called 'Sabredance' (basically a giant praying mantis) and a Venomoth called 'Nightflight.'
"You like Sabredance and Butterfree Junior just fine," Ash added.
"Well that's different," Misty said. "Sabredance is too big to be a bug and BJ is…" she shook her head as she thought of Ash's new Butterfree. "BJ is just BJ. I don't think of him as a bug."
Ash and Tracey exchanged a slight smirk and Misty fumed, feeling silly. The fact that a mere Pokémon Watcher was showing more fortitude than her affected her professional pride. Ash shot her a conspiratorial wink and then redeemed himself by shooing a Beedrill away from Misty's hair. Misty collapsed with relief at her near escape.
As the trio continued to look around, Tracey made small talk. It had been two years since he had last walked the roads with Ash and Misty, and his time in the rarefied atmosphere of Professor Oak's labs seemed to have changed him slightly. Pokémon had become more of an academic subject, and less of a real-life concern. "I've always wondered," Tracey asked. "Why more trainers don't give their Pokémon names. I mean, Ash you call your Butterfree 'BJ' to set him apart from your first, but he is the exception. You and Misty both have Wartortles, for example, and don't give them individual names. It must be confusing if you are both using them."
"Not really," Misty replied easily. "Ash and I have different voices, so both our Wartortles know who is who."
Tracey blinked for a moment. "Er, no," he said in a confused tone. "That isn't what I meant, Misty."
"I've always thought that giving Pokémon human names is almost like trying to make pets or property out of them." Ash commented, turning from the strange variation of a Metapod he was examining. As he continued, he began to gesture animatedly. "They are intelligent beings in their own right, Tracey. I always think that giving them cute names demeans them. It is a partnership, not a master-slave relationship." Ash felt coldness as he explained his feelings. His words brought back half-remembered flashes of feelings. Fear. Anger. Terror. Pain. The nearness of defeat. Most of all, he could see a tall, grey being with violet eyes filled with anger, and could remember a psychic voice filled with hatred and self-loathing. "Their friendship is a gift, and we should take it on their terms," he concluded. He shook his head and turned his attention to his find.
Misty gawked along with Tracey for a moment. That was the most passionate speech she could ever recall Ash making and it made her proud of him. She, too, felt that too many people treated Pokémon as property rather than friends and colleagues. "Besides," she added, "they all know who they are. What use is a name to them?"
Tracey shook his head and pursued what he saw as a weak point in Ash's argument. "I don't get you, Ash," he said. "I've seen you capture dozens of Pokémon. Where is the partnership in that?"
Ash smiled at Tracey's lack of understanding. "The capture is only the beginning," he said. "If there is one thing I've learnt through Charizard, it is that the Trainer-Pokémon relationship must be based on trust and co-operation. A Pokémon must believe in his or her Trainer if they are ever to be any good in the Arena. If any Pokémon does not want to stay after I have trained him or her, I will let them go, just like I let Murkrow go."
Tracey shook his head in incomprehension at Ash's attitude, and then he shrugged and dropped the subject. At Ash's suggestion, sketched a quick study of the variant Metapod that they would fax to Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town later on. Maybe this was a new kind of bug Pokémon.
Raichu interrupted Tracey's muse. "Raichu! Rai-ai!" the electric squirrel called out. The three humans went running to see what he had found.
Raichu was sitting in the middle of the path, giving a very wide berth to a sparkling blue-white jewel in the very centre of the road. "Oh wow!" Misty gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Let's find out," Ash replied. He pulled out Dexter, his weather-beaten and faithful Pokédex. He opened Dexter and directed its' sensor at the jewel.
"Thunder Stone," Dexter reported in his cheery voice. "A power stone capable of forcing an evolution in electric- and related-type Pokémon before they reach the prerequisite experience level."
Ash grinned in triumph and picked up the Thunder Stone. No wonder Raichu was giving it a wide berth, he had already evolved and the effects it could have on him were incalculable. Or were they? Ash turned back to Tracey and Misty. "Guys, do you remember that lecture Professor Oak gave last year about evolving Pokémon?"
"Uh, a little," Misty replied. Truth be told, she didn't remember much. Professor Oak's lecture style was sleep inducing to say the least and Ash's close proximity at the time made it hard to concentrate.
"I remember," Tracey replied. "He said that it was likely that all Pokémon capable of evolution had a three-stage chain like Bulbasaurs, Squirtles and Charmanders. It was just that they had such high experience prerequisites that it was impossible to get them up to level three by normal means."
"He offered pretty good reasoning too," Ash recalled. He looked at the Thunder Stone and looked at Raichu. The electric squirrel cocked his head and looked back. No. Ash decided. If I am going to try this risky theory out, it has to be with a Pokémon who is tougher than any other is. One who explodes for a living, for instance. Ash reached behind his back to his bandoleer and pulled a Pokéball. "Pokéball, go!"
The red-and-white sphere broke open and Electrode emerged. The bomb Pokémon looked around him expectantly for a fight. No enemies. Nuts. Electrode liked detonating. It was an unhealthy attitude, Ash thought, but it made him terrifying in battle. "Electrode," Ash said. "I have a proposition for you. How do you feel about evolving?"
[Well, I upgraded from Voltorb, didn't I?] Electrode replied in a surprised tone.
"Yes, I know, and I was grateful for you taking the step," Ash replied. "But what if you could evolve again?"
Misty gasped and hugged herself tightly in fear. Tracey leaned forward in interest as Electrode considered the question. [You mean I can go higher?] Electrode asked in confusion.
"I think so," Ash said. He pulled out the Thunder Stone and placed it on the ground before Electrode. "This is a Thunder Stone. You know what it can do." Electrode nodded. "I have good reason to believe that, if you absorb its energy, you will evolve." The floating sphere moved forward, but Ash restrained him. "There is a risk, however. If I'm wrong, you could die or worse."
Electrode paused with thought. Electric sparks rode along his surface and grounded themselves on the forest floor. [Risk is my game. I'm a bomb,] Electrode replied.
"Think about this, Electrode," Misty said, regaining control of her voice. "You don't have to do this."
"Like hell," Tracey grumbled quietly. "Ash should just command Electrode and we can find out if the Professor's theory is right."
Misty almost snapped and hit the Watcher, but she controlled herself. "This is Ash's friend we're talking about!" she hissed. "Not some damn science experiment. Show some kind of empathy if you please!" Tracey jerked back in surprise at Misty's anger. Okay, he thought. Trainer/Pokémon relationships are a sore topic, better keep clear of it. He turned his attention back to Electrode.
[I'm going to go for it,] Electrode decided.
Ash nodded and stood back. "Thanks for your trust, my friend."
The bomb Pokémon looked up at Ash in surprise as his Trainer simply stood and watched. [You'd better stand back,] he advised.
Ash smiled and shook his head. "You trust me, its' only right that I show trust in you," he replied.
Electrode nodded again and moved forward. He reached down and took the Thunder Stone in his mouth. There was a sudden thrill of energy. Electrode was surrounded by golden-white fire as the Thunder Stone discharged its immense energies into Electrode's body. Raichu jumped off of Ash's shoulders and joined Misty and Tracey in hiding behind a fallen log.
Electrode turned to a bright white sphere of energy. Ash leaned forward and gritted his teeth. The electrical fields made his skin tingle and his hairs stand up to be counted.
There was a titanic explosion and Misty grimaced in empathic pain. She leapt over the log and ran right towards the cloud of smoke and dust. "Ash!" she called out. "Ash, where are you?"
"Right here, Misty," Ash said in a choked voice. Misty, her eyes watering from the smoke, looked down and saw Ash sitting on the ground. His face was blackened and his hat lay a further 10 yards away. He looked up with a wry smile. "Me and my bright ideas," he said in a quiet voice that Misty recognised meant he was angry with himself.
Misty, relieved that Ash had survived, helped him to his feet. What has happened to Electrode? Ash thought angrily. He wouldn't ever forgive himself if he had been hurt. Both trainers peered forward as the smoke cleared. Something was floating there. Something that was definitely not a beachball-sized bomb Pokémon. When the smoke cleared, they both gawked at what was floating in the clearing, over a darkened and discharged Thunder Stone.
"Ah, the Professor's theory is right!" Tracey exulted. "He is going to be over the moon when he hears about this!" Tracey reached his two friends and nudged Ash forward. "Well go on, Ash. Find out what it is!"
Ash walked forward and examined the new Pokémon. It resembled a four-foot long bunch of grapes, but instead of grapes there were dozens of what looked like upside-down Voltorbs about the size of a soccer ball. Each sphere had its own Electrode-like face, with bright, intelligent eyes that followed Ash as he walked cautiously around it. He reached out. The Pokémon was metallic to the touch, and there was a hint of electricity. "Clustanode," it suddenly announced, in a medley of thirty voices.
Ash suddenly grinned. "Yeah, Professor Oak was right, as usual," he said with a laugh of relief that his explosive buddy had survived. He tried to hug the new Pokémon and noted, with some surprise that the cluster re-arranged itself to allow him to reach all the way around. "Misty, Tracey, I want you to meet Clustanode."
The other two walked forward with amazed expressions. Tracey convinced Misty to stand next to Clustanode, so that he could get a decent scaling for his sketch. Ash cocked his head like a curious Growlithe and stepped back. So, he thought, what is this marvel that I have caused to be? With a slight smile, he pulled out Dexter and activated the 'scan and diagnose' mode. He would have to put together a full report for Professor Oak eventually, so he might as well start now.
"Clustanode, an exploding Pokémon," Dexter announced after scanning for a moment. "The third level of the Voltorb evolutionary chain. Clustanode is a new Pokémon type and few of its characteristics are known. Among its abilities, it can detonate its individual spheres, technically called 'nodes,' either simultaneously or individually. It can also separate its body into its individual nodes to spread its explosive effects over a wider area than its' precursor types. Clustanode's modular nature makes it extremely difficult to hit with ranged attacks."
"He looks great, Ash," Misty said. She turned around and appraised Clustanode in amazement. "I wouldn't have believed it. He looks even more dangerous than Electrode."
Ash and Tracey watched Dexter's screen print out a provisional classification.
Pokémon #260 – CLUSTANODE
Type: Electric/Steel
Evolution: Voltorb chain, level three
Attacks: Unknown. Will include Thundershock
Explosion
Supersonic
Thunder
Defences: Unknown. Will include Thunder Shield
Split and Dodge
Notes: Each individual node of Clustanode can function independently of the whole. However, when working together, the Clustanode can generate an explode attack between 50 and 70 times more powerful than that of an Electrode.
Like all of its chain, Clustanode can also absorb electrical energy and use that to increase its explosive power.
First identified by: Professor Samuel Oak, theoretical description only
First captured by/first known trainer: Ash Ketchum
Misty turned back to Ash as the magnitude of what happened to him struck home. She hugged him. "Oh Ash!" she cried. "The first Trainer for a completely new sort of Pokémon!"
Ash laughed a little in disbelief. "Yeah, it's great, isn't it?"
***
In a distant part of the woods, two grey-uniformed 'grunts' of Team Rocket stood by a small transmitter/receiver and kept watch as ordered by their unit commanders.
"So," one finally asked in the boring silence. "When does the job start?"
The other shrugged. "You know how these Black Rockets like to plan. After we lost three at that mansion, Butch and Cassidy want to make sure their plan is, quote: 'flawless' unquote."
"Heh, yeah, as if," the first commented. "Well, if we get back at those three twerps who chased us away from that pretty red-haired bit of skirt and turned Clyde into a novelty Popsicle, I'm willing to wait." Both men snickered nastily as they imagined the torments awaiting the three trainers who so humiliated them the previous week.
Perhaps, if they had been less busy talking and more busy keeping watch as they had been ordered, they would have had some warning as to what was about to happen. As it was, they had no time to react. It was all over too quickly.
The first indication they had of trouble was when a three-lobed sphere lofted out of the tree canopy and suddenly blew a thick black smog of toxic gas at them with a roar of "Weezing!"
The two Dan'in staggered blindly and collapsed to their knees, coughing helplessly. "Don't shoot," one coughed. "Can't… see anything… Might hit… each other!" There was suddenly a howl of rage and a blur of motion to the left. The Rocket who had just given the wise warning cried out in pain and surprise.
The other Rocket peered blindly into the choking gasses. "Brian!" he shouted and was seized by another fit of coughing. "Brian!" In terror at the hidden danger around him, he rose to his feet and fled blindly. Suddenly something wrapped around his left ankle and tripped him over. He dropped his gun as he fell and it disappeared into the smog. Whatever it was that had him, the thought of facing it unarmed drove the Rocket far beyond terror. He screamed as the tentacle lifted him into the air.
"Beeeeeeeeell!" an inhuman scream replied. The terrified Rocket was dumped into a dark cavern that smelt of rot and digestive fluids. Suddenly, the Rocket felt calm and relaxed as juices pumped all over him.
"That is enough with the soporific poison, Victreebell," said an assured male voice. The Rocket was hauled out of the cavern. He sat passively at Vitreebell's roots as Jessie and James emerged from the smog, wearing TR-issue gas masks. As the smog cleared, the Rocket could see his companion lying unconscious, a snarling Growlithe on his chest, but strangely he didn't care. Behind him, Victreebell burped as it finished digesting his hat.
"Now," James said calmly. "You have just been doused with Victreebell's soporific poison. Do you know what that means?"
"Yes," the Rocket replied in an idiotic tone of voice. "My motor nerves are all totally relaxed and I am extremely susceptible to suggestion."
"That is correct," James said. He smirked at Jessie. "I told you Victreebell could manage it, Jess." Jessie grunted sceptically. James knew her doubts about the half-trained plant Pokémon and she had no desire to reiterate them now. "Now, tell us what you mission is and where we can find Butch and Cassidy."
"Butch and Cassidy, plus four other members of the squad are moving towards Lake Viridian," The Rocket explained, and puzzled why he was telling these unknown civilian Trainers this. "Our mission is to terminate the Trainer Ash Ketchum and any witnesses to his execution."
Jessie gasped. "Kill Ash Ketchum? And the others? God in heaven, James we have to do something?"
"Jessie, we've got enough problems of our own," James snapped in reply. "We can't be distracted by running around after every hard-luck case in the region. Ash can look after himself."
"Actually that is unlikely," the Rocket volunteered.
James turned around and regarded the totally relaxed grunt with a predatory expression. "I'm sorry, you foul piece of shit, did you say something?"
"Butch and Cassidy are under orders to execute the primary target at all costs," the Rocket explained. "They are willing to do so immediately and have prepared an ambush to ensure that Ketchum and his companions have no time to react before they are killed." The Rocket smiled dim-wittedly. "They are looking forward to making it quick and painful."
Jessie muffled her cry of disbelief on her fist as James snarled and began to pace. A month ago, Jessie would have smirked and dismissed the 'Twerps' from her mind immediately. Now? Well, they had been of great help to James and her over the past few days. Misty especially, for all her naivety and lack of classical beauty, had become a close companion to Jessie. More than once the older woman had fallen asleep after crying herself out on the shoulder of the sympathetic and kind Misty.
"James," she said quietly, "we owe them."
"Don't you think I know that?" James snarled. He stopped his pacing back and forth for a moment. Finally he growled an expletive. "All right, we'll go and help them. We have to deal with Butch and Cassidy eventually. It may as well be now." He turned to the Black Rocket. He pulled his Berretta P92 pistol and put it against the totally zonked Rocket's forehead. "Time to put you out of your misery."
James tried to squeeze the trigger but found that he could not. Was there fear in those clouded eyes? He looked over his shoulder at Jessie. Although she was trying not to show it, there was disapproval in her whole posture. Finally, with a frustrated roar, James slammed the butt of the pistol against the Rocket's temple. The man slumped. James holstered his sidearm and recalled Victreebell and Weezing to their Pokéballs.
"All right," he said to Jessie, who was smiling proudly at him, "let's go."
***
Ash, Misty and Tracey were lounging on the edge of the lake, heedless that the last few minutes of their lives, as they knew it, were ticking away.
"So," Misty said, rolling over to face Ash. "What is the most difficult battle you've ever had?"
Ash thought about that before answering. "It wasn't even a Pokémon battle," he replied. "It was between me and Charizard. That dragon is so stubborn, and he nearly just flew off and left more than once. Every time he came back, though." Ash shrugged. "Either he likes me or I was always doing something right. Is a flame-thrower attack a sign of affection? I don't think I'll ever be sure. What about you, Misty?"
"Me?" Misty asked in genuine surprise. "Uh… well it must have been trying to capture a wild Tentacruel. I threw everything I had at one just off the shore near Cerulean and all I got for my trouble was a pattern of scars on my hips." She shuddered. "They still itch before the weather turns cold, so it wasn't a complete loss."
Ash and Misty turned to look at Tracey. The Pokémon Watcher shifted uncertainly. "Hey," he protested. "You guys are the heroes and adventurers. Me, I'm just a naturalist and a struggling artist. Convincing Professor Oak to let me off the leash is excitement enough."
Ash laughed. "What has he done to you, Trace?" he asked in humour. "Where has that over-intense monomaniac artist gone? Oops, I forgot, you are right here."
"Ha, ha, I don't think," Tracey replied sourly.
Ash would have pursued his quarry if Misty hadn't elbowed him in the ribs. Ash decided to turn to a less caustic topic. "Can I see your sketches of Clustanode, Tracey?" Tracey nodded and handed over a series of sketches of the newly evolved bomb Pokémon. "This is a good one," Ash said, pointing to a sketch that looked like a DNA double helix. Clustanode had proven a very compliant personality and was proud to show off his ability to re-form his cluster of nodes into dozens of shapes. Ash leafed through the other sketches. If he lingered a little too long at the picture with Misty standing beside Clustanode as an indication of scale, it was understandable.
The trio was just getting ready to leave when a nauseously familiar pair of voices called out. "Prepare for trouble,"
"And make it double!"
"To infect the world with devastation,"
"To blight all peoples of every nation,"
"To denounce the lies of truth and love,"
"To extend our wrath to the stars above."
"Butch,"
"Cassidy,"
"Team Rocket, circling Earth at the speed of light,"
"Surrender or die in the fight!"
[Raticate! That's right!]
Ash swung around to the small copse of trees extending down to the lakeside and deliberately forced himself to relax as Butch, Cassidy and her Raticate, accompanied by four Dan'in wandered towards him. The Black Rockets were carrying MP5 sub-machineguns, so Ash didn't feel like starting anything right now.
"If you two are looking for Pikachu, then you're out of luck," Ash commented, a slight smile touching his face.
"Nah, we're not after your Pokémon today, Twerp," Butch commented, taking in the surroundings with an absent expression.
"Though they may be a bonus," Cassidy purred seductively. Ash shot her a concerned look. Of the two, she was the far more dangerous. What she lacked in physical strength compared to her hulking partner, she made up for it in sadism and rat-like cunning. He watched Misty tense. Doubtless she was remembering the torments she had suffered from these two cheap thugs.
"So what is the game today?" Misty asked shakily.
"None of your business, Ms. Twerp," Cassidy replied, shaking her finger at Misty. "Ash Ketchum," she added, turning back to her target. "I am afraid your time has come."
"You'll never get away with this," Tracey insisted. "Your Boss won't be pleased if two of his field agents hang."
There was a long smug silence "Who will know we were responsible?" Butch finally asked with a sick smile. Ash tensed in fear and anger at the threat to his friends. He looked sideways and saw Raichu prepare himself. He shook his head gently. Starting something now could cause a bloodbath, something he wanted to avoid. Suddenly, Butch paused. "Hey, Cass," he asked his partner. "Aren't we forgetting something?"
"Yeah," Cassidy replied with a sudden look of revelation. "Ash, my boy, I've got a message for you from the Boss."
"From… Giovanni?" Ash spluttered. From father? Ash thought furiously. What the hell is this?
"Yeah that's right," Cassidy confirmed. "What was it now? Oh yeah: 'Blood we may be, Ash. However, the dream and the future must come before such considerations. Take comfort in the fact that this is for the greater good of all humankind.'" Cassidy shrugged easily. "Don't understand what the hell that was about, do you Butch?" The other thug shook his head with a smirk.
Ash knew what it was supposed to mean. He tensed up as he analysed the message. Father knows, he realised. Oh shit. Professor Oak was right; the simple fact of my existence is a threat, so father is acting to stop me now. What is worse, I've got Misty and Tracey involved. Ash tensed to order Raichu into action, his reached backwards for his Pokéballs… as Butch raised a modified IAI Desert Eagle Magnum 357 pistol and fired at Ash. Simultaneously, Cassidy lifted her own gold-plated Colt 45 semi-auto and fired at Misty.
It was all over too quickly for Ash's mind to comprehend. Ash heard Misty scream as she was flung back by the shot. Tracey shouted too, he cried out his fury, fear and anger and threw himself at Ash, knocking his friend aside… and taking a bullet in his place.
Ash screamed in fury, fear and grief. He tensed himself to launch himself at the two killers, Raichu moved too, just as Cassidy charged and put her gun to Ash's forehead. "Don't move, unless you want to lose your Trainer, electric squirrel."
Raichu paused, temporarily confused as to how to react to this threat. If he didn't move, then Ash would be shot, if he did, the same would happen. Ash was in no place to offer advice. He was on his knees, looking at Misty and Tracey, both of whom were unnaturally still.
"Well, shit," Butch said. "I wasn't expecting anything like that!"
"It did the job," Cassidy replied. "Well, thanks for co-operating little Raichu. Just to let you know, you've made the wrong choice!" Cassidy's finger tightened on the trigger just as Butch, Raticate and the Dan'in disappeared in a rolling brown-black cloud of smog.
Time slowed to an asthmatic crawl giving Ash the time to completely decide on his tactics and strategy. Cassidy turned to look at the smog bank in total incomprehension as Ash rolled backward and kicked Cassidy's pistol out of her hand. Released by his Trainer's actions, and responding to the subvocal cues he knew so well, Raichu fired a Thundershock at the Team Rocket agent. With the violence of the moment, he felt no reason to hold back. The golden electrical burst completely enveloped Cassidy, who stiffened and began to shake as if possessed. The moment of the attack passed and her eyes rolled back and she collapsed lifelessly, her lips blue.
At this moment, something inhuman screamed "Beeeeeeell!" and a Dan'in fighter was flung bodily almost 500 yards offshore. A few seconds later, a second Rocket fled the smog bank, ablaze from head to toe. He too splashed into the water, trying to extinguish the napalm-like bio-thermal fire.
Ash came upright; he drew Meganium's Pokéball as Butch and Ratticate fought their way from the smog bank. Butch saw Cassidy fallen at Ash's feet and roared something inarticulate. Raticate responded to seeing his Trainer so badly hurt by launching himself at Ash in a Hyper Fang attack. Ash flinched away, but the rodent-like Pokémon's attack still slashed open a long cut on his forehead. Raticate turned and tried to attack Raichu.
Raichu dodged the clumsy attack easily. Ash came upright again, wiping the blood from his right eye. He gestured and Raichu initiated the attack combination Ash had just ordered with that gesture. Raichu easily dodged a second attack from Raticate, then thundershocked the evil rodent. He closed in and completed his attack with a Quick Attack. Raticate staggered away and Raichu slapped him with his long tail, delivering a Thunderbolt attack that knocked Raticate unconscious. As the fight raged, Meganium emerged from her Pokéball and turned to face the surviving Rockets with a furious roar. Her beloved 'Ashy' was hurt and she was out for blood.
Butch scooped up Cassidy's unmoving body and, pausing only to recall the defeated Raticate to his Pokéball, he and a single unarmed Dan'in fled into the forest. Meganium power-walked in pursuit, a hail of razor leaves cutting through branches, foliage and the occasional piece of human flesh.
"Growly, pursue," shouted a familiar nasal voice. Ash looked up and, as the smog cleared saw the most unlikely of saviours. James was watching with an angry expression as his Growlithe tore into the forest after Butch, Cassidy and the surviving Dan'in. James looked up and gestured to Weezing, sending the airborne poison Pokémon into pursuit too. Jessie was looking up at another Dan'in, her classical features twisted with murderous rage. The Rocket was snugly held in Arbok's coils, whimpering for mercy as the huge cobra Pokémon played her long tongue across his cheek. Meowth jumped up and began to taunt the prisoner gleefully.
"Raichu, get after those… bastards… and get me a prisoner… alive!" Ash roared. Raichu reacted without a word and raced into the woods after the routed villains.
Ash half-staggered, half-ran to where Misty had fallen and collapsed to his knees by her side. "Misty," he wept freely. "Oh God, Misty no. What have I done? Don't die, please! In the name of God don't leave me!"
Misty opened her eyes and looked around. "Why am I not dead?" she asked with a frown. She looked down at her backpack that she had swung in front of her just before the Team Rocket goons arrived. Ash reverently moved the backpack aside. Nothing had penetrated her tank top vest. Misty flexed her left arm and grimaced at the pain. "Where did the bullet go?" she asked in almost childish confusion.
She pulled open her bag and saw what had happened. One of her super-tough Pokéballs had, in a fluke, taken the bullet and stopped it. It had saved Misty's life, which was no comfort for the luckless Magicarp, whose Pokéball it was. With the ball's integrity destroyed, the fish-Pokémon's bio pattern instantly dispersed. It was, at least, painless.
Ash hugged Misty hard as if he would never let go, whispering incoherent endearments and not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Then his gaze travelled to where Tracey lay on the shore, his eyes open and blank. A huge dark red patch spreading across his chest and spreading from behind him. Misty's turned to see too and screamed "TRACEY!"
Ash and Misty staggered to their feet and ran to their friend. It was already too late. Tracey had left without a word or a chance. Ash began to weep again, whilst simultaneously trying to comfort Misty. "Tracey," Ash whispered. He sat down hard. "Oh no…" he moaned. Misty staggered and collapsed to her knees at Ash's side. The two trainers hugged. James and Jessie approached them, but gave their associates space and time. They knew only too well what was going through their hearts.
Suddenly there was a howl from the woods, a chaotic combination of human shouts, and cries of "Growlll!' 'Raichu!' 'Meganium!' and 'Weezing!'
James shot Ash a significant look. "They got one," he explained.
Ash, half blinded by tears and blood, managed a nod. He kissed Misty and left her with Jessie and… Tracey… as he and James worked their way into the wood.
The Black Rocket lay at the base of the tree wrapped securely in Meganium's vine whips, stunned, gassed and with a lacerated leg from Growly's tender touch. Ash and James walked right up. James was just considering how to begin the interrogation when Ash beat him to it. The younger man lifted the stunned Dan'in from the ground, spun him by the lapels and slammed him hard against a tree trunk.
"Alright you piece of shit," Ash grated. "You've got five seconds to start talking and then I will make you wish you were never born."
The Rocket sneered. He spat out a tooth, then spat a gobbet of blood at Ash. "You don't frighten me, good guy," the man hissed. "You wouldn't dare touch me because it's against your precious law. Let's go, I'm sure I have a nice cosy cell and a few years of due process ahead of me before I'm released as a 'victim of society.'" The man laughed scornfully, something that made Ash's blood boil.
"Don't be so sure," James said smoothly. "As your leaders so nicely pointed out: who knows what happens out in these woods?" James drew a long, cruel survival knife and hefted it experimentally. "What is one more body today, especially if it is so torn up that it is obviously the work of wild Pokémon?"
The man stiffened and shot Ash a desperate look for help. "You won't let him torture me…" he whispered, more a desperate plea.
Ash was angrier than he had ever known. "He won't have to," Ash whispered. "You see, I've got a Primeape, he's got a Victreebell and that man your buddy killed had a Scyther. Between them, I am sure you will become more intimately aquatinted with pain than anyone who has ever lived before."
The Rocket looked at Ash with horror before saying: "I will never talk," in such as way as to suggest it was a statement of fact. He then moved his jaw and relaxed in Ash's grip. James shot Ash a stunned look and reached forward to test the man's pulse. He was dead.
Ash lowered him to the ground. "But I didn't do anything," he protested.
James considered the problem and opened the man's mouth. What he found surprised him. "A hollow tooth! It must have had instantly acting poison inside." James shook his head in disbelief. "Man this is too… melodramatic. Team Rocket never does things this way!"
"It does now," Ash said quietly. Without another word, he fled for the lakeshore. James blinked in confusion, then realised what had alarmed Ash. He set off at a run.
They arrived too late. The Dan'in held so securely in Arbok's coils was already dead from the same fast-acting poison. Both James and Jessie were amazed. They had never heard a hint that the Dan'in fighters now carried suicide pills with orders to self-destruct if captured. Something was happening to their organisation. It was becoming more and more brutal and without compassion – even for its own people.
***
After an hour simply staring at the covered body of his dead friend, Ash finally managed to rouse himself to action. A single telephone call summoned Officer Jenny and the proper authorities. Jessie, James and Meowth made themselves scarce. They had no desire to meet with the police at this time.
After answering a few heart-breaking questions, Ash and Misty watched as the bodies of Tracey Sketchitt and the two Dan'in were loaded onto ambulances. They turned to join the sad procession returning Tracey's body to Viridian City.
Ash lagged back a few paces. He suddenly turned to a patch of shadow. "Meet me in the city next Tuesday at 3PM," he said in a firm tone. "At the café opposite the Gym. We have something to discuss, you and I."
James stepped forward. "We won't be there, Ash," he replied. "And I don't know what we still have to discuss. We have paid our debt to you, now we have to pay our debt to Team Rocket."
Ash hissed in annoyance at James comments. "You say Team Rocket owes you something?" he asked. "Well, they owe me too. You can either help, or spend the next few months locked up somewhere out of my way." Ash smiled bitterly as he watched anger and shock cross James' face at Ash's threat. "We are in this together, my dear James," Ash continued. "You and Jessie can either stay and help me or keep away from this matter for good. Your choice."
Ash turned to follow the departing ambulances and police cars. He continued in a louder voice. "I'll see you next week," he called back over his shoulder. He then walked away.
In her hiding place, Jessie suppressed a shiver. He seems so certain that we'll be there, she thought. It is almost as if… he already knows…
To be continued…